Stephanie Hainsfuther
NMBW Contributor

A portable photovoltaic cell power system devised by Sacred Power Corp. of Albuquerque has won a $607,000 contract from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The DOI has contracted for 16 of the units to be manufactured at Sacred Power's new facility and transported to tribal lands. The SP 1200 Stand-Alone PV-Hybrid System collects solar energy for electricity and will provide power to remote reservation homes that have always been off-grid.

The SP 1200 is the next generation of mobile solar system units developed by partners Odes Armijo-Caster and David S. Melton.

"The tribes had been purchasing units similar to this in the past, but they always provided the homes or the tribal council with a small system," says Armijo-Caster. "They never had power before, so having lights and a T.V. was great, but it wasn't life-changing for them. Once they had that small power supply, they would buy microwaves and other appliances, and the system would crash because there wasn't enough capacity. We've provided the [larger system] solution for that house."

The unit itself is approximately 14 feet long and 10 feet high, constructed on a skid that holds the solar panels with their photovoltaic cells, solar collection batteries and a back-up power system in the form of a propane-powered generator. The batteries are enclosed in a cool-cell battery box to keep them between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, even in the New Mexico sun. Components are maintenance-free. The SP 1200 is now made at the company's new 7,500-square-foot manufacturing quarters, located just a few short blocks from the All Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

Sacred Power works with the U.S. Department of Energy, New Mexico State Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the All Indian Pueblo Council to bring its technology to remote tribal residences, schools and public buildings. "The only people who can afford us is the government, and that's who our contracts are with primarily," Melton points out. "We're trying to get the cost down; that's why we have our own manufacturing site now."

The partners bristle at the question of whether solar power is an affordable alternative energy option. "In California, it is immediately economical right now," says Armijo-Caster, citing that state's high-cost energy woes. "They [generate so much solar energy that they] send that electricity back into the utility during the day. You can come home at nighttime and say, 'I want my electricity back now.'" He mentions that Sacred Power's solar installation at the Jemez Pueblo Library, through a contract it signed last year, actually returns power to the utility, sending the meter spinning backwards. Sacred Power's PV Array at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center powers up to 10 percent of the building's electricity from the Solar Carport, as it is called, and is the largest such array in the state. Most of that energy is consumed immediately. Both projects were helped along by support from the New Mexico State Energy Office.

The photovoltaic cells in the solar panels themselves are expensive to produce because they are subject to the same manufacturing process as silicon chips. But Melton insists that a solar generator like the SP 1200 is such a good investment that he likens it to a stable 401 (k) plan. "The economics are here right now" he advises. "You're going to get a two- to three-year payback versus propane; a four- to five-year payback versus natural gas. When you retire on a fixed income, you're going to use the same amount of energy, but you're not going to pay any more for your electricity. The system will have paid for itself. What else can you buy that pays for itself?"

Part of Sacred Power's mission is education and training. Last year, it won a $431,000 contract with Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) to design and build a solar power system to teach students about this alternative energy source. "It's not just about us making money," says Armijo-Caster. "It's about training other people to build and use this type of system."

A brand new $588,000 contract with the DOI will have 12 units of a different type rolling out of the manufacturing facility within the next few weeks. The new units are patented, solar-powered telecommunications shelters for remote locations.

Sacred Power is about 18 months old, a hybrid itself of Melton's five-year-old Diversified Systems and Armijo-Caster's nine-year-old Luz Energy Corporation. They have four employees and subcontract some of their work.